Halkeginia's Hellhounds
by MaverickHunter12
Summary: Roger Aston hadn't been expecting that a simple survey of an unexplored planet would be exciting at all. And he definitely wasn't expecting to find he'd been thrown into a world of magic and elves. Basic sure as hell didn't prepare him for what's to come.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Notes: This is an idea that's been floating around in my head. And just so everyone knows, the starship trooper part of this story is from the original novel, not the movies. The novel is way better than that piece of crap trilogy.**

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**Rodger Aston/ Terran Mobile Infantry/ 01400 hours standard time**

It was quiet, almost disturbingly so as the five of us sat in the loading bay of the TFCT (Terran Federation Corvette Transport) _Leo Clarke. _All of us were wearing the Mobile Infantry standard issue powered armor, though only three of the five of us were actual MI, the other two were scientists involved in the Federal Service. Beside me was my buddy from boot camp, Lance Corporal Harry Graholski; and on my other side was Federal Xenobiologist Dr. Rudolph Benson. The Doctor looked quite nervous, understandable considering he that it was his first drop. Us cap troopers were put through extensive training to prepare us for orbital drops; the good doctor however had only a single safety course under his belt.

I turned my head as our CO, Major Andrew Septin stood up in his bulky armor and began making his rounds; it looked like we were almost at our destination. He was pressing the buttons on the belts of everybody's suits that checked the wearer's vitals. The buttons continuously lit up green as he pressed them, indicating good health. Then he made it to me; he pressed the button on my belt and while I didn't see the green flash, I did hear the encouraging "bing" noise. The Major nodded at me before taking his place at the head of the bay.

"Alright you apes!" the Major bellowed, "the mission today is standard ecological survey of an unexplored planet which appears to be Earth-like". Now that was interesting; in the entirety of the Terran Federation, there were only six planets (including the Earth) that required no Terraforming in order to be habitable for humans. Finding these was like buying a house that was already furnished and painted how you wanted.

"Dr. Benson of Xenobiology and Dr. Carlin of Geology will be doing the actual surveying, you two," he pointed at Harry and I, "along with me, are to provide protection for the two from hostile lifeforms".

I had to supress the urge to groan in disappointment, lest Septin verbally crucify me; but I just couldn't be enthused about this mission. I'd signed up to fight Bugs, not to babysit a bunch of scientists as they took plant and rock samples. I could tell that Harry felt the same, and maybe even Septin, but there wouldn't be any belly-aching in this unit.

"We'll be dropping on a northern continent within the planet's eastern hemisphere". A hologram of the planet was brought up and Septin pointed towards a large Europe-looking landmass.

"We'll begin our survey there for the first week before moving on; if everything goes to plan, then we'll be finished the survey within two months. Any questions?" I raised my hand and Septin gestured for me to say my piece.

"Major, is it necessary for there to be three of us MI to guard the survey?" Septin adopted a rather hostile glare as he glowered at me.

"Private Rodger Aston" he growled out my name; following this, I noticed that the scientists were starting to look quite uncomfortable, while Harry was trying to supress a smile. I made a mental note to put some alien bug into his sleeping bag; superior officer be damned.

"Would you mind explaining to me why you think that?"

I gulped, this would end with me receiving a severe tongue lashing.

I began my explanation "Well sir, both Dr. Benson and Dr. Carlin are wearing powered armor, so they're adequately defended; and a single MI can decimate whole enemy regiments. It wouldn't be unreasonable to assume that three fully trained, fully armed MI are unnecessary to defend against a little local wild-life".

Septin grinned and slowly strolled over to me until our faces were inches apart. He smiled warmly at me, and then his expression morphed into one of anger.

He hollered into my face "Private, if this was boot camp I'd make you run laps until you were half-dead! And then maybe some, considering your stupid ass wouldn't be of any use to anyone!" Only through months of mental disciplining at Basic was I able to avoid flinching.

"You see this?" he pointed at his scarred face, "When I was a Sergeant, I was on the survey to Haven. Before then, I'd been in over twenty-seven "incidents" with the Bugs and made about thirteen drops in enemy territory". He backed up a bit.

"Not. A. Scratch". He paused, most likely to let that sink into my brain; and I do have to admit, it was kind of impressive.

"First day on Haven", he gestured at his face once more, "and this happens to me, plus I lose my arm three weeks later and have to replace it with a prosthetic". He was now looking at me with an intense stare, which a lesser man would have cowered from.

"I saw things that would make the Bugs look like caterpillars in comparison, and that's why we're here". He turned away from me and walked back to the head of the bay.

"Now then, we'll be dropping around this area", the map zoomed in on an area on the continent parallel to a large island. "Once we land, we'll get our bearings and you'll all form up on me. The _Leo Clarke_ will be on standby with the Sixteenth Battle-fleet until we contact them for pick-up". The map disappeared and Septin walked back to his seat.

"We MI will be armed with light rockets, grenades, and wrist flamethrowers; as well as a sidearm pistol. Our Y-Racks will each be loaded with a single low-yield hydrogen bomb, but that will be a last resort only", he emphasized the word "only" pretty heavily, indicating that if we fired one without a good enough reason, our asses were grass.

"This is prime real-estate you apes, we can't go irradiating it before we've even started setting up shop".

He flipped a switch next to him, and a loud hissing was heard as mechanical arms lowered the armor helmets onto our heads. There was another hissing noise as the helmet began pressurising itself. The hissing stopped once the suit was airtight, and there was nothing but silent darkness. But then, the whole thing lit up and I was hit by the sight of the main monitor within the helmet, coming alive. There were a couple of counters on my HUD indicating ammo count and armor integrity as well.

Immediately, I started to get the shakes. I was still pretty fresh out of boot camp and I'd only done one drop during the assault on Planet P. That had been a rocky introduction to the dangers of dropping in the middle of enemy territory, especially Bug territory. My squad was completely overrun and we had run out of ammo after an hour of fighting, forcing us to resort to using our bare hands to dismember the Bugs.

Me, Harry, and two others had been the only survivors in our platoon after that; our Lieutenant and Platoon Sergeant had both bought the farm during the scuffle. And Harry and I had been reassigned to this survey unit.

So of course I was nervous; an experienced MI had once told me that you got used to it after a while. The more unnerving part had been when I asked him if he meant I stopped shaking. His answer?

No, you just stopped noticing.

I turned my head towards Dr. Benson. He looked more nervous than I was, he wouldn't stop fidgeting. I decided that I needed someone to talk to; I bit down on the communicator once and opened a private channel.

"Sooooo", I slowly drawled; Benson jumped at the sudden conversation and rotated his gaze behind the helmet to me when he realized I was talking.

"I assume that this is your first drop?"

He chuckled, "How did you know".

"Well you're shaking like you just overdosed on caffeine, so yeah"

The two of us were silent for a while before the stillness was broken by Benson.

"You seem quite young" he stated.

I told him "I'm about nineteen now".

"That so, you must have signed up as soon as you were legally allowed to"

"Yeah, I went to the recruiter's office on my birthday" remembering that day brought a bit of emotional pain. Not because I'd signed up, but because of what had happened before.

"If, you don't mind me asking Private Aston, why did you choose to join the MI of all things? If you wanted citizenship you could have just enlisted in any other branch of Federal service".

I thought back to that day, wondering if I should open up and tell him all about it. The images of a shattered vase and a violent exchange of words deterred me though, and I decided to give him just the short answer.

"I wanted to spite my dad".

Benson looked at me for a few short seconds before chuckling and replying.

"You know… I'm quite surprised you managed to survive Basic training with such shallow motivation". He chuckled again and this time I joined in.

I pointed at him and said "Your turn, why did you enlist as a Xenobiologist in the Federal Service? You could have gotten a much higher paying job in a cushy civilian university or research center".

He nodded at my observation; "you're right of course, and for a while, I actually was doing that. I wasn't in good shape at the time though; my wife left me, I had a drinking problem, and my job security was in serious danger; it was looking like a bullet breakfast was coming up soon. But then, I saw an advertisement for Federal Service on the television; it got me thinking, maybe I could do something with my life and my skills, maybe I wouldn't have to waste my life like this".

He paused and the shaking stopped; most likely calming drugs administered to him by his suit. "So, I went to the Recruiting station, and a few weeks later I was on my way to Pluto. It's done me a lot of good; I kicked my drinking problem, and I finally found purpose in my life". He looked around the _Clarke's_ bay, "though I never expected to be dropping in powered armor to a planet's surface".

"Don't worry" I reassured him, "We'll make a cap trooper out of you yet".

"ASTON!" shouted Major Septin over the comms, "No private conversations before a drop!"

"Sorry sir" I said as I wondered how he could have possibly known we were talking. Then of course, I remembered the helmets weren't soundproofed.

He growled "Don't worry Private; because you just volunteered for the first night watch; much obliged".

I had to struggle not to let my annoyance show, or else Septin would probably make it four watches.

"Alright Ladies!" Septin hollered throughout the bay, five drop capsules opening as he spoke.

"I want you all to make it into your respective capsules and just sit tight while the pilot does the rest of the work for us".

We all stood up and moved towards the capsules. Septin entered the first capsule, as was a rule for commanding officers, while Harry took up position in the second capsule. I walked towards, and entered the third capsule; the door closed before I could see Benson and Carlin enter, and I was alone in the dark. The capsule was soundproof to everything but the loudest of noises also, so it was dead silent as well.

A few minutes passed, and I heard a muffled bang as Septin's capsule was fired from the _Clarke_; I jerked to the side slightly as my capsule slid forward, like ammunition fed into the gun. Another bang as Harry's capsule was fired and my capsule slid forward again. What seemed like an eternity passed, then I felt a huge force as my capsule was fired.

Then there was nothing as I entered freefall, not a single sound. It was as if I had entered a void and there was no world outside my capsule. I suddenly found myself with the shakes again, not because of the drop, but because of what Septin had told me.

Was there actually something down there worse than the Bugs? I hoped not.

**Saito Des Ornieres Hiraga/ Tristainian Nobility/ Late Noon day**

It was a quiet day on the Des Ornieres lands as I rode atop my favourite horse, Kyoko. I had been doing my daily rounds, which involved overseeing the work done in the fields, and inspecting the crops. It had been a good season; the wine grape yield this year would be so high that we would turn a serious profit.

I had definitely gotten better at managing my land. When I first started, I had to have Louise do everything since I had no idea what it took to running an estate and all the surrounding land. Now though, I could manage our finances and handle the daily administrative duties just fine without any help.

I gazed out over a large vine field for a short while before deciding that everything was running satisfactorily. I pulled Kyoko's reins to turn her around and have her walk towards the stables; she huffed and we were trotting down the path. A few of the laborers waved and smiled as I rode by; a gesture which I happily returned. Then, a refreshing breeze blew through, which cooled me in the warm weather, and almost seemed to waft within my soul and cleanse me of my negative feelings.

Life was good. It had been a year since the defeat of the Ancient Dragon, and everything seemed to be going well; I had married the love of my life, reunited with my parents, the blood feud between Elves and Humans was starting to lessen in intensity, and all of my friends were doing as well as I was. Of course, there were still a few problems; the Germanian Empire was becoming more hostile as of late with the death of the previous Emperor and the coronation of his son, Frederick the IV; and there was increased instability within Albion as the Reconquista regime fell apart (the withdrawal of Gallia's secret aid was most likely the cause). There were numerous factions now fighting for power, from nobles who were also wannabe kings, to even commoner revolutionaries.

But, I was sure that everything would work itself out for the best. Right now I was more concerned with getting back to the manor in time for dinner. From the looks of it the sun was already starting to set, and Louise absolutely hated it whenever I was late. I gently pushed my feet against Kyoko's sides, pushing her to go a little faster. Her trot became a slow gallop, and the gates to my estate were soon in sight.

I pulled the reins slightly, and Kyoko gradually slowed down. The two guards at the gate saw me approaching and quickly opened the gate, letting me through before closing it once more. I gazed around at the gardens and the forests of the grounds before steering Kyoko down the path towards the stables.

When I had arrived, I dismounted as the stable hand, a thirteen year old boy named Ramon, came to take Kyoko's reins and guide her towards her pen. I gave her a sugar cube and stroked her neck before letting Ramon lead her away. Normally I handled the duty myself, but as I said before, I might've been running late.

Before I could open the large double doors that led into the manor I called home, they swung open seemingly on their own. Well… not on their own; at the entrance stood the head butler, Degualle, looking as dignified as ever with his fine suit, well groomed balding hair, and dry expression.

"Welcome back Master Des Ornieres" he greeted in a dreary tone of voice.

I returned his gesture, "good day Degualle; is Louise waiting for me?"

He answered "actually my lord, the Mistress has been waiting for you in the study for quite some time. She is a bit annoyed".

I swallowed nervously as a I broke out into a light sweat. Let's hope that this didn't end too messily.

Degualle asked "Shall I secure the Master's escape if necessary?" as I wallowed in my own fear

Louise and I never ate in the large dining room unless we had guests; it was simply too large and too empty for either of us to feel comfortable in. That's why we always ate in the study; it was a nice, small room with a decent sized table, fit for dining for two. The large window also gave us a beautiful view of sprawling trees, a sunset (if the time of day was right), or the twin moons of this world. With my hand filled with a few roses I had quickly pulled from the flower bed in front of the manor, I reluctantly pulled open the door to the study.

There sitting at the table, was a rather cranky-looking petite, pink haired woman wearing a nice green frilly dress, a silver ring on her left hand, and a scowl upon her face. While she certainly didn't look happy, it was more an expression of annoyance then anger.

I silently gulped, and opened my mouth to greet her. The fear was making it difficult to form coherent words.

"Louise, my love whom I hold dearer than anything else. Is something bothering you by chance?" Damn, was I laying the brown-nosing on a little too thick?

"You're late" Louise told me rather coldly.

"S-sorry" I stuttered, "I was doing my daily inspection and lost track of time".

Louise sighed tiredly and her expression morphed from annoyance to simple exasperation. "Well I suppose that this means you're taking your duties as a Noble far more seriously then you used to, I'll excuse your tardiness this one time but not again".

I felt extremely relieved. I quickly leaned out the doorway and gave the thumbs-up to Degualle, who was watching a short distance away, to indicate that the escape route would not be necessary, before closing the doors behind me and taking my seat at the table with my wife.

Siesta had outdone herself this time; using the advice I had given her, as well as some cookbooks that I had brought back from my Earth, she had created a traditional Japanese dinner. I was getting excited just thinking about how good this would taste.

"S-Saito, How do you use these things again?" Louise asked as she fumbled with her chopsticks. I had to resist the urge to laugh at her attempts to handle the wooden utensils. I reached out at took her hand, proceeding to fix her grip on the chopsticks. The door opened, and Degualle walked in with a bottle of nice wine in his hands.

"By the way, where is the maid" she asked me as I had to fix her grip for the fifth time. It was a good question, Siesta usually tried to eat with us (as well as spoon feed me much to Louise's anger); her disappearance was quite odd.

"If I may interject sir?" Degualle asked as he poured the wine into our glasses.

"Miss Siesta left shortly after she finished preparing dinner. Apparently, she received a message indicating a family emergency in her hometown".

I nodded and dismissed Degualle, who quickly exited the room, before returning to dinner. It must have been pretty sudden, or else Siesta would've told us about it. She did say that her father's health had been failing recently, maybe that was it

"So…" I asked, not sure how to proceed, "how long do you think she'll be gone for?"

"Not long enough" Louise grumbled; I sighed tiredly, I know that Louise was getting tired of Siesta's attempts to seduce me, but she was still our friend, she could show a little bit of concern. Louise raised her head and glared at me with narrow eyes.

"Why are you so worried?" she asked. Uh-oh, Louise had entered her jealous clingy mode, and not the one where she had a cute flustered look on her face. I would have to tiptoe around this sensitive situation very carefully. If I wasn't cautious, I would be on the receiving end of a violent explosion.

"W-well you know" I stuttered nervously, "It's a long journey from here to Tarbes, and it's night as well, it could be dangerous".

Louise replied, "don't worry, she has her own personal horse and it's a good quality steed, she can outrun anything that tries to catch her".

"I guess you're right; but still, she is our friend, it's only natural that we should be worried for her".

Louise sighed; she had given up on the chopsticks and now was eating with a fork. "I know" she grumbled, "but I get so tired of her attempts to become your "second", it just feels nice to have her out of my hair". She was starting to get that sulking look now.

It seemed as though this conversation should probably be steered in a completely different direction; so I began working my brain beyond its limits, trying to find the right thing to say so I could get the cute, smiling Louise back. It would take a line quite original and charming to accomplish this.

"You look very beautiful today Louise". Was that the best I could do?

Luckily, it looked like that had done the trick; a bright red blush covered her face and she looked away, trying to hide it.

"T-thank you… Let's just finish eating".

We both returned to our meal while I tried to hide a triumphant smile from Louise's view. Looks like I still had my signature charm.

The cool night air wafted into the bedroom through the open balcony window (or door, it seemed to be both and I had no idea what the real name was), I was laying on the bed in my nightwear with a short novel that Tabitha had lent me in my hand, it was an interesting story about a man named Ivaldi, and his quest to save the princess from a dragon. She had told me about it when we had saved her from her insane uncle Joseph, but only now had I found the time to actually read it.

Louise was standing on the balcony in her lacy nightgown, brushing her hair. Her bright pink locks flowed in the breeze, looking like something out of a cheesy romance movie. I stood up and walked over beside her. She looked at me and smiled, I smiled back.

We stood there for a short while, simply gazing out at the two moons, before a single idea entered my mind.

"Hey, Louise, do you want to take a vacation across my world?" a puzzled look came upon her face.

"But Saito, we took a trip to visit your parents a month ago?" she replied

I laughed, "No, I mean in the winter, when we don't have anything to do, we should take a vacation and see the rest of the world. With your world door, we could go anywhere; France, England, Egypt, America, Canada, Brazil; the possibilities are endless".

She seemed to ponder this for a while before smiling. "You know what Saito, I quite like that idea. By the way, didn't you say that the so called "city of love" was in this France place?"

I smirked "Why yes it is, and on a related note" I gently took cupped Louise's chin in my hand and pulled her in for a kiss. It was a soft and tender kiss, and when we broke apart I looked her in those big beautiful eyes and smiled softly.

"I love you Louise" I told her.

Her expression melted and she replied in kind, "I love you Saito".

We became lost in each other's gazes; and knowing us, it probably would have continued like that if Louise hadn't pointed at something off in the distance.

"Saito, look!" Louise was directing her attention behind me; I turned, and saw the something pretty weird, even by Halkeginia's standards.

In the starry night sky, I saw what looked to be about four shooting stars, flying through the heavens. It was unbelievable; shooting stars were pretty rare, was it actually possible for there to be even more than one at a time? Either way, it was kind of a majestic sight to see.

"That's pretty amazing" I said as they streaked out of view; Louise looked absolutely star struck (pun not intended). Then, a thought struck me.

"Hey Louise", she turned to me; "on my world, they have a superstition, where if you make a wish after seeing a shooting star, it might come true".

She beamed at me, then closed her eyes and clasped her hands like she was praying. She even scrunched her face up; it was actually pretty cute.

"There, I'm done" she stated.

"What did you wish for?"

She giggled and walked back into the bedroom; I followed and closed the balcony doors. Louise curled up under the bed covers and with a melodious voice, told me…

"I asked Brimir if our house could be blessed with the sound of an infant's cries".

Wait… did Louise want children? I had never thought about the possibility of having kids; Louise was seventeen and I was eighteen, so I didn't think we would be considering children until a few years later. Then again, it was probably normal in this world for people to have babies at such a young age.

Age aside however, children were a huge responsibility. There was no doubt that Louise and I could handle the financial struggles involved with raising a kid, us being Nobles and all; the question was whether we could deal with the emotional struggles. Would I be a good father who was looked up to by his son/daughter? Would our child grow up to be a responsible, upstanding member of society? The questions kept pouring in.

Would I have to ask my parents for advice? Would he/she make lots of friends? Would he/she do well in school? Would I have to learn how to change a diaper? Would there even be diapers since this was a medieval age world? Thinking about it was causing me to tense up.

A new notion occurred to me; if Louise wanted children, did that mean she intended to do "that" tonight?

The idea excited me; I was finally going to lose my virginity. Louise always got nervous and pushed me away if I tried to make a move on her, so this was pretty awesome. The blood started rushing to my face.

I probably was making a perverted face without realizing; because Louise's cute, blissful face soured up almost immediately and her face turned beet red with what I assumed was embarrassment.

"Y-you perverted dog! I talk about something as wonderful as bringing a new life into the world and that's the first thing that comes to your mind!"

She grabbed one of the pillows beside her head and threw it at me with all her might. I narrowly dodged the soft projectile and saw another one fly towards me and promptly hit me in the face.

I decided to get out of the room while she was just throwing pillows and not explosions and quickly exited through the doorway. I could still hear her yelling at me as I closed the door, and I decided that it would be best if I waited to see whether or not she'd have cooled off in the morning.

And so here I was, standing alone in the hallway; no bed, half-naked, and no warm body to curl up with. Pretty sad really.

"Shall I prepare the sofa within the study for sleeping Master?" I jumped as I realized that Degualle was standing right beside me.

"I'll take your brief panic as a yes my lord" Degualle dipped his head at me, and then left to fetch bedding, leaving me to stew in my own frustration.

What a night this had been.

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**Read and review please.  
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	2. Chapter 2

**The new chapter is out. I'm sure you all know the drill. Read. Review. Thank You.**

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**Rodger Aston/ Terran Mobile Infantry/ 01900 hours standard time**

Landing was always the worst part of making a drop. Even after the chutes were deployed and the bottom thrusters started going off to slow the capsule down, you could still feel the G-forces as they rocked you about within the small capsule. And that's before you actually hit the ground.

Even with all these initiatives to ensure that you didn't slam into the planet with enough force to create a crater the size of London, there was still a large amount of noticeable force when you made impact. There was no danger of course, since not only is the inside of the capsule too small for you to crash around in, but your armour would absorb most of the impact. That didn't stop it from being incredibly nerve-wracking though.

And that's what it was like for me when I my capsule hit ground. There was a huge bang as the capsule implanted itself in the earth. And without even a second for me to ready myself the capsule door opened and I bolted out, doing a diving roll into the middle of a clearing before readying my weapons and surveying the surrounding area. It was standard MI combat protocol of course; as soon as your capsule hit planet-side you were effectively helpless against the horde of hostiles you would be dropped in the middle of. Therefore, MI Cap-drills consisted largely of practising how to get out of your capsule as fast as possible before the enemy realized that a fully armed MI was about to rip them a new one.

After determining the area, a beautiful, green coniferous-like forest, to be safe I checked my HUD, looking for the position of Septin and the others. I determined Septin's position as being a couple kliks due north, and headed out to regroup, as was standard protocol.

I couldn't jump there, at least not without crashing into a tree, so I had to content myself with running there as fast as I could. The vibrant colours of the forest passed me by like blurs as the enhanced strength provided by the armour allowed me to sprint at unbelievable distances without even breaking a sweat. This was quite easily my favourite part about powered armour; the sense that you had surpassed your physical limits. It was Terran ingenuity at its finest.

After a few minutes, I stopped for a second to catch my bearings and check on Septin's position. No sooner had I done that when a strange rustling sound caught my ear; I turned to face where it had originated from, less scared than I was curious (there were very few things capable of spooking an MI when he was loaded up to his neck in heavy weaponry like I was).

The rustling continued, coming from within a section of deep foliage to dense to see through. Finally, after a few more seconds of that annoying rustling, three figures came out.

I'm honestly not sure what they were; the things had vomit-green coloured skin and faces that looked like a cross between a man and a hog, a really ugly hog. They were slightly larger than an average human, and wore what looked like a really primitive armour made out of scraps while wielding rusty Iron weapons. They had really ticked off looks on their faces, but their expressions reminded me of the neighbour's dog, Willie, who wasn't exactly right in the head.

The lead one stared me down eye-to-eye (or eye-to-visor in this case) before he let out a roar, or at least I think it was a roar; although to be honest it sounded like the thing was burping, squealing, and trying to cough up a loogie at the same time. It was like evolution had gone out of its way to make these animals as repulsive as was physically possible.

The leader charged at me, brandishing his mace as he swung it towards me.

An action followed by me easily deflecting his blow with my forearm before I backhanded the pig-man thing across the face as hard as I could.

I'm not exactly sure where the head flew, but when I looked at the leader, his neck was a bleeding stump. The body ungracefully slumped to the ground, while the two others kind of just gawked at me with those dumb expressions of theirs. I expected them both to do the smart thing and walk away from a fight they couldn't win, but surprisingly the one on the right raised his weapon and made that same weird roaring sound before the both of them charged me.

It was at this moment that these creatures reminded me of another one of Willie's traits.

He had a bad habit of picking fights he couldn't win.

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A good several minutes had passed before I arrived at the rendezvous point, carrying a dead pig-man-thing over my shoulder. Everyone else was already gathered, and were sending some odd looks at either me or the body I was carrying; probably both.

"Private, I'd chew you out for taking to long to rendezvous and wasting precious time" Septin said, "but I'm currently more curious about that... thing you've got over your shoulder".

"Just some local wildlife i ran into, sir. Thought that the Doc' would want a sample to study".

I dropped the body into the middle of the clearing, giving everybody a chance to look at it. It was hard to tell what everybody thought of the pig-man-thing, on account of the visors obstructing their eyes, but Benson seemed to be getting into Xenobiologist mode. Poking, prodding and scanning over the creature like it was the most interesting thing he'd ever seen; it probably was now that I thought about it.

"Well Private", Septin bellowed. "Looks like you found your long-lost brother; the resemblance between you two is uncanny".

"Yes sir" I answered grudgingly, unwilling to talk back to a superior officer. Though for the record he had no idea what he was talking about. I was a real looker.

"Prepare to move out; Doc, you can study that thing once we set up a proper base camp. For now, Private Aston will carry the corpse".

I frowned at that; cleaning your armour was a nasty chore when you were just taking care of simple dirt,rust, and grime, and I didn't want that thing to start rotting all over me. Nevertheless, I picked up the body and threw it over my shoulder again; ready to start moving.

"Where will we start major?" Carlin asked.

"We'll head east, towards those small mountains." Septin replied. "After setting up shop, we'll spend a couple weeks here before moving south. This is really just a general survey to figure out if this area is fit for the Federation to set up a colony on, so we probably won't have to leave the continent". He turned towards Harry and I and then bellowed in that unbelievably loud voice of his.

"ALRIGHT YOU APES, LET'S MOVE OUT!"

"SIR, YES SIR!"

And just like that, we headed off to explore unknown lands.

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**Queen Henrietta de Tristainia/ Tristainian Royal family/ Early evening**

I could not describe the relief I felt as I signed the last invitation and stamped the royal seal of Tristain on it. I had been sitting at my desk for hours personally writing out each and every letter of invitation to the royal families and nobility of Halkeginia, inviting each and every one of them to attend the Reverencia. It was exhausting work, and couldn't help but curse my younger self for choosing such a sophisticated and difficult to repeatedly write signature.

It was important work that had to completed quickly though; the Reverencia was a festivity, held every twenty-five years, in which all the Royal families, High Nobility, and the Pope would gather at the royal palace of Tristain and celebrate the founding of the country I call home. The attendance of foreign rulers and aristocracy was, symbolically, a gesture of good will, though it was also an excellent opportunity, since it was one of the few times that the people who ran their respective kingdoms could meet face to face and hold discussions.

Agnes had been standing beside me almost the entire session, leaving only a few times to fetch the me my lunch and tea. She still had that same stone cold face she always had, but i could tell that she was glad that i was finished with my work and we could both retire for the night. There was a slow creaking, and i looked up to see Cardinal Mazarin, my trusted adviser, enter the room with an armful of documents. For some reason, these documents gave off an ill and foreboding feeling.

"Ah your majesty", he said in a cheerful tone. "You've finished the invitations, excellent; if you don't mind, I have several forms here regarding the Reverencia that we require you to look over. It shouldn't take too long, maybe just an extra hour or two".

I was right about those documents after all. If it wasn't so unbecoming, I'd probably throw my arms towards the sky and cry out in despair.

As the Cardinal laid the papers on my desk, his eyes seemed to catch something he disapproved of, if the deepening frown was an indicator. I followed his gaze and saw exactly what it was that had soured the man's mood.

_Bidashal of Nephthys_

_I hereby invite you to the Reverencia_

_In celebration of the founding of this Kingdom of Tristain._

_The festivity shall be held in the Royal Palace on the Day of Water two weeks from now._

_We would be honoured if you would attend._

_Henrietta de Tristainia_

I had also sent similar letters to his niece and her fiance, as all three of them were currently serving as ambassadors from the Elven country. Well, Bidashal was an ambassador at least. His niece came here with him to study human society, while her fiance apparently came to make sure she didn't do anything reckless. It was part of my efforts to better relations between the races of humans and elves, but there were many, both within and without the country, who were suspicious of the Elves despite the fact our races joined forces in the Draco War ( the name people were starting to call the fight against the Ancient Dragon and its brainwashed dragonic army). It frustrated me to no end that these people would continue to hold onto their hate even after being given no reason to do so.

"Don't even start Cardinal" I declared in an annoyed voice as he looked like he was about to voice his opinion on what he no doubt thought was a silly dream born out of childish naivete.

"You're majesty, I have great admiration for what you are trying to accomplish with this. But I can't help but think you're moving far too fast in achieving your goals"

"Is that so?" I said in the most uncaring way possible.

"Opening trade relations and diplomatic ties with the Elves is one thing, but now you're all but pushing the two sides together in an attempt to make them get along. 6000 years of hate and fear can't simply be washed away in the space of less than thirteen months."

"What's wrong with trying though?"

"Nothing your majesty". He was saying that, but he was talking to me like I was an excited child that had accomplished something that seemed titanic to the child, but was actually quite silly and mundane. "It's just the way you're going about it that is ineffective".

I let out a disgruntled noise and prayed that the Cardinal was finished and would leave now. Alas, that was not the case. For he had found another thing that he disagreed with.

"And what's more, you've also invited Emperor Frederick of Germania".This was starting to become exasperating; even more so than before.

"Those pagan barbarians have never been invited to the Revernecia for a reason your majesty" he ranted. "To do so would-"

"I don't care about these 'time honoured tradition' Cardinal!" I asserted quite forcefully. Even Agnes was quite taken aback by my new-found force of will.

"This silent snub of Germania must end now. If we are to spread peace throughout the continent, then we must welcome our neighbour's as friends, not exclude them as if we're the superior nation".

"Your majesty-"

"Now, more then ever, we must open our arms and talk peace with Germainia; especially since Emperor Frederick has begun reforming and expanding Germania's military. Those large scale movements and exercises near Pratzen are just more evidence that the sour memory of the One Year War still lingers on".

The One Year War; never would you find a more controversial topic in all the Germanian-Halkeginian relations. That conflict had begun when Albrecht II, grandfather of the current Emperor Frederick, had declared war and invaded Tristain over a small border dispute; an event which the entirety of the Brimiric nations could only describe as a wanton act of Imperialism. Germania's generals had thought that their better equipped, better trained, and larger army would simply roll over Tristain's defences.

It might've done so also, if it hadn't been for the fact that this was the war where Tristain's own Karin the Heavy Wind made her debut. Add that in with the military genius of my father, newly crowned King Philip I, along with the skills of other such men as General Gramont, Osman the Earthen Calamity, and Colbert the Flame Snake, and Tristain was not only able to fight back against the Germanian menace, but keep fighting concentrated at the border and surrounding areas for a whole year.

Things eventually came to a head when the Pope had finally decided to intervene. He ordered both sides to sign an armistice and offered to help broker a peace. The Emperor was forced to accept this proposal by his war-weary Nobles, lest they call the Electorate College and have his family replaced as the Imperial line; my father accepted it as soon as he'd heard about the peace.

The war ended with Germania being forced to pay heavy reperations to Tristain, as well as having to give up the fertile farmland of the Pratzen valley, which were then given to her kingdom. Tristainians viewed the war as a patriotic symbol; a great triumph over the barbarian empire that was Germania.

Germanian's on the other hand, saw it as the ultimate humiliation. For not only were they vindicated as barbarians by the Brimiric nations, a view which continued to hinder Germania's efforts to establish itself as a respectable great power, but they would also forever remember it as the war in which their great Empire, considered at the time to be the most powerful military force on Halkeginia, had been defeated by the kingdom considered to be the weakest of them all.

And now with Frederick, the memories of that horrible conflict seemed to cast an even larger shadow than before over both countries. A shadow that threatened to envelop them completely.

"i can't think of a better opportunity to reconcile than the Reverencia". I told the Cardinal as I stared at him defiantly. "We shall offer them the Olive Branch; if they snap in two, so be it. However, i will not allow a war to break out without even trying to do something about it".

I paused for a few moments, daring the Cardinal to continue. With a sigh, he dismissed himself; leaving me with triumphant smirk on my face. A smirk that disappeared once I remembered the forms that he had left on my desk. Cursing my fate, i set to work, dipping my quill into the inkwell and beginning by signing my name on a paper regarding money needed for the Reverencia celebration.

"You know Agnes, you can leave if you want". I told my bodyguard and friend.

"I really shouldn't your majesty; it's my duty to ensure your safety" she replied.

"None of that" I told her; " I'm doing paperwork in the heart of the palace, I'm not in any danger. Now, as your Queen, I order you to dismiss yourself for the night". Agnes seened to be struggling to find a way around my order; but she had nothing, and was forced to concede defeat this time around. As she walked towards the doors to my office she turned towards me.

"Please your majesty, don't overdo it". I let out an annoyed grunt with a scowl on my face as she opened the door and left.

I knew what she meant by overdoing it; a few weeks ago, Agnes had confronted me about this very issue. She had said that ever since Louise and Saito's wedding, I had thrown myself into the role of diplomat, working across the entire continent trying to create peace. It was true, I had my hand in the managing of issues across the continent, from the current situation with Germania, to even the instability in Albion.

I was not too proud to say her accusation was false. I wasn't fooling myself about why I was single-handedly trying to bring peace to Halkeginia. I was only trying to forget the emptiness that came about from witnessing Saito and Louise's union.

I was happy for the two of them, how could I not be? But there was the inevitable sadness that came with knowing that for the second time, I had lost the man I loved. I knew he cared for me, but that caring would never go beyond a close friendship.

No matter how much i wished otherwise.

And with that saddening thought, I returned to my paperwork. This time though, the frustration was replaced with deep sorrow. As tears began trickling down my face and making a distinctive _pitter-patter_ as they hit the paper below me, i felt more alone then I ever did before.

* * *

**Roger Aston/ Terran Mobile Infantry/ 20000 hours standard time**

We had already setting up a base camp after arriving in no time-flat; a skill they had wasted no time in drilling into our head at Basic. Our living quarters were simple tents; well, not simple really considering one tent was actually a fairly large research lab containing sophisticated equipment for the survey. It always amazed me how much crap they could fit into those supply capsules.

Benson had wasted no time in getting out of his armour (it was too much of a hindrance in that tent) and starting to dissect the specimen i brought with me as soon as Septin permitted it. Septin was presently in our primary sleeping tent and was logging our current progress into Journal for debriefing, while Carlin was also in the lab, studying some sediment samples he had extracted; although to me it just looked like a handful of dirt.

That left Harry and i as the only two people still in our armour. Septin had told us, and i quote:

"You two keep watch outside. Lance Corporal, make sure that the Private here doesn't accidentally shove his own head up his anus".

So here we were. We both had removed our helmets and were consuming MRE rations, which were our only source of food for the duration of our stay. It amazed me that we could create Cherenkov drives capable of relativity-free FTL travel, yet our, military rations still tasted like garbage. Human ingenuity marches on it seems.

"Hey" Harry said in between bites; "did you hear anything about the war before we left?" I finished chewing my protein bar before answering.

"I heard that the Bugs managed to hit our research stations on Pluto. Other than that, we still seem to be in a stalemate" I said as i gulped down the last of the foul tasting bar.

"Probably trying to destroy those brain bugs we captured on Planet P. Luckily those things were still in transit when it happened; I heard the entire place was slagged by the time response forces managed to drive them off".

Harry grimaced at my mention of Planet P, not that i could blame him; that experience had been hell on both of us. I still sometimes had dreams about that day; tearing Bugs apart with our armoured hands after running out of ammo, all while watching the beacons of our platoon disappear one by one as the insects relentlessly attacked. Although it was gruesome, one of the other two surviving members of the platoon that Harry and i fought in still said it wasn't as bad as Operation Bug-house on Klendethau had been.

"I wonder if everything we did in that battle will be worth it later" Harry lamented in a heavy tone. "Is that Brain Bug going to be any use to us? Or will it all prove meaningless in the end?".

"C'mon, lighten up. They'll never accept into Officer school if you have that kind of attitude".

"Well it's a good thing i don't plan to be an officer then" he replied.

"I thought that was your goal back in Basic?"

"It was; but on Planet P, when the Lieutenant was calmly giving out orders as we were being swarmed by Bugs, I realized the immense responsibility an officer has to shoulder. To be placed in command and accept the duty of ensuring that each of your men makes it back in one piece; I wouldn't be able to handle such a burden. And I especially wouldn't be able to cope if I failed and they all died despite my best efforts. No, I'm better off where I am currently".

"Join the club. Me, I don't have the head for a command. I'm good with the position I'm in now" He smirked.

"You mean with your head up your anus?" we both laughed.

"Hey man, that's just the Major's opinion; and you know how you've got to take that".

"Let me guess" a certain deep, baritone voice sounded from behind us. "With a grain of salt?"

i froze like a deer caught in front of the headlights before i slowly turned and saw Septin standing behind us in baggy trousers, dark combat boots, and a black undershirt. His scarred face leered at me as he stood there with his muscular arms crossed in front of him.

"You know Private, you're rather loose when it comes to conduct regarding your superiors. Don't think that just because you're in that armour that i can't toss you over my shoulder and across the horizon without even breaking a sweat".

"Sir, I would never dream of thinking so, Sir!" I exclaimed as I stood at full attention.

"And you, Lance Corporal" Septin pointed to Harry, "Don't think I didn't see you joining him in the fun. If we were back at base, I would have made you both run laps, since you seem to enjoy each others company so much".

The rant would have probably continued for hours. However, it was interrupted by a soft loud rustling coming from within the foliage.

Our MI training kicked in, and the three of us were instantly silenced and on guard. We drew our sidearms (It was actually quite comical looking at Septin hold his weapon; because since it was meant to be used while in powered armor, the gun looked incredibly over sized compared to what a normal human usually carried) and then Harry and I crouched low, letting the unarmored Septin use us as cover.

The rustling continued for ten seconds, before finally something stepped out. I have to say that it was quite anticlimactic. Why?

We had been expecting a predator of some sort, or maybe one of those man-pig-things. Instead, out from the trees came a young, four-legged creature that looked so similar to Earth deer that the resemblance was uncanny. Benson and Carlin both came out of the lab, most likely curious about why Septin had stopped yelling so unnaturally sudden, as we both calmed our nerves. It turned out that we'd gotten worked up for nothing.

This was immediately followed by an odd flapping sound that ended abruptly as a huge crashing sound came from behind us. We all turned to look at the source of the disturbance.

Septin's stories about Haven were starting to come to mind as I looked on at a large, lizard like monster with bony protrusion-like scales all over its body, a pair of leathery wings on its back, and glowing red eyes that gazed at us with a hungry glare as it stood on what used to be the lab tent.

Before we could react quickly enough, it opened its teeth filled maw, and a red glow emitting from the back of the monster's throat morphed into a crimson bright flame that threatened to consume us all.

* * *

**I'd like to thank one of my reviewers for giving me the dragon idea. Also, in case you didn't know, the man-pig-thing is an orc.**

**Anyway though, what do you think about how i portrayed the interaction between Septin and Roger? In the novel, you can sense there's a kinship between the rank-and-file troopers and their commanding officers; yet Heinlein manages to strike a delicate balance between that and the discipline that exists between the two groups as well. I'm not nearly as good as Heinlein, and I'm hoping that I didn't portray Septin as excessively harsh.**

**Also, I know that the Bugs attack Pluto in the novel before the attack on Planet . However, by the time I noticed this, I had already gotten far past that point, and now I'm too tired to care.**

**Now if you'll excuse me, I need to turn in. It is 12:00 PM, and I am tired.**


End file.
